MovieChat Forums > All the Right Moves (1983) Discussion > Setting and Atmosphere

Setting and Atmosphere

posted 9 years ago by cellism
9 replies | jump to latest

I've never been to Pennsylvania, but I have to commend "All the Right Moves" for it's portrayal of a steel town in a previous time period. I love the way it looked: factories, rising above the town, the smoke stacks, somewhat rural Pennsylvania in October/November (the mostly bare trees, the constant pounding of rain, the grey skies). It was gritty and grungy and, well, beautiful.

The football was good too, in what limited time it gets. The film itself can be a bit flimsy, but the look and feel of the town during this time period was very well done. Atmosphere is a big plus for this film. And that includes an atmosphere that sees Tom Cruise and Lea Thompson rounding bases in the back of her car, as well as that dude doing that strange hump-dance in a jock strap, before a game, in a dingy locker-room.

There is something about factory/mill/railroad towns that is romantic, and "All the Right Moves" nails that.

[–] basterd7 9 years ago

I agree, this film was made at the perfect time to capture the mood and atmosphere of a small dying steel town. In the early 80's, the American steel industry was in its death throes and the cinematographer Jan de Bont did a great job of showing the gloom and rust.

[–] cellism 9 years ago

Yes. It's either you make in enough to get a football scholarship to college, or you work in the mill and become a drunk, longing for the high school glory days. Those are the options for these people, and the film does a wonderful job of explaining that, as preposterous as it may seem.

[–] TheChuckler 9 years ago

why couldn't he just move away and work his way through college without a football scholarship? Not trolling here...I've just never understood that.

[–] ravenjohn65 9 years ago

My way Or the highway!

[–] ReturnOfWhiskey 9 years ago

I, too, love the atmosphere - it's what draws me to this movie more than anything else. There's just something about the small mid-west town's from the early 80's (in the Fall/Winter) that fascinates me. I'm a native Californian, so go figure.

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[–] Dan_Garten 9 years ago

Yeah, good atmosphere.

[–] spookyrat1 8 years ago

Yeah, good atmosphere.

Very similar in setting to the first half of The Deerhunter.🐭

[–] sonofbeach-sheet 8 years ago

And a steel mill town in the 80's was a dying breed under Reagsn, but many of these ignorant, angry, and disgruntled people working at them supported him because they were the same ballsy and unreflective a'holes like he was.

[–] jporter-6 8 years ago